Two ex-tenants who had a “hunger for profit” were charged with manslaughter yesterday in the Black Sunday deaths of two hero Bronx firefighters forced to jump four stories to their deaths when they were trapped by flames.

Rafael Castillo, 55, was accused of illegally subdividing his third-floor, three-bedroom apartment at 236 E. 178th St. into five bedrooms, a move that required the use of extension cords that caught fire, prosecutors said. Caridad Coste, who rented the apartment above Castillo’s, was accused of subdividing her dwelling into a warren of rooms that blocked the fire escape for the doomed Bravest, lawyers said.

The building’s former landlord, Cesar Rios, and the company that owned the building at the time, 234 E. 178th St. LLC, were also charged with manslaughter, apparently for allowing the subdivisions to occur.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars.

The deadly blaze broke out Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005, when an extension next to a bed overheated and caught fire. As the smoke and flames billowed, six firefighters went up to the fourth floor to check out an erroneous report that someone was trapped there.

Due to a snafu, they were left without a working hose and were themselves trapped by the flames.

Because the access to the fire escape was blocked, the six were forced to jump out windows.

Two, Curtis Meyran and John Bellew, died, and four others were badly injured – requiring months of rehab. Hours earlier, in an unrelated blaze, a firefighter was killed in Brooklyn.

Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said the death-plunge tragedy resulted from “a hunger for profit” and the prosecution of the four defendants would send “an enormously important message.”

Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, praised Johnson.

“This should be a host across the bow for every landlord in New York City that does illegal renovations that can endanger the lives of firefighters and the civilians we are sworn to protect,” he said.

Eileen Bellew, the widow of Bellew, also lauded Johnson.

“I hope these people enjoy their money because they’ll never be enough money to replace my children’s father and my husband,” she said.

“These people wanted to put greed over the safety of firefighters and ordinary citizens. It’s really a terrible thing to realize.”

Dan Bellew, ex-firefighter and the dead hero’s brother, added, “It was nice to know that the city didn’t give up on these people and nailed them in the end.”

One of the four injured fire heroes, Gene Stolowski, has recovered to the point that he marched in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Mayor Bloomberg marched alongside him.

“They had a wheelchair there for him. He refused to get in the wheelchair. He was determined to march the whole parade route,” the mayor said. “I think this young guy tells you everything you need to know about why we are safe in this city.”

Two firefighters survived because they shared a rope that belonged to one of them. As a result, the FDNY is now issuing ropes to all firefighters.